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Free Solo climbing. Holy crap!

Those are the kind of people you hear about on the news falling to their death.

"Climber missing for 3 days found at bottom of rock face." "Next on news at 9, what restaurants in your area have the best health department scores"
 
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I used to free climb when I was young and stupid. Never anywhere like that, but dead is dead, you don't have to fall far.
 
thanks for the link! geez, these guys are beyond badass, I mean they have to be perfect everytime, they can't have a bad day and say I'll stop now and do it again tomorrow, they have to keep going until they're done. crazy!
 
cyclohexane said:
if they fall, do they have enough time to open the chute?
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They have to make it to about a thousand feet before the chute will save them (if they're wearing one).

Free-soloing is just dumb. As someone who climbs, I would never in a million years climb a sheer face with no protection. I don't care how good you think you are, there's always a chance that a piece of rock will break away.
 
"That was always the scariest part about climbing, falling."

I'm going to go ahead and nominate that as the well duh statement of the day.
 
The mastery they have over their fears is amazing, although I don't know if it's worth it. I wonder if they always feel like they have to master something greater than the time before, or if the feeling is the same each time. I would imagine it's the same each time, and they have to struggle through it.

Pretty cool, although not my cup of tea.
 
I saw more power to 'em. As long as it's not costing the lives of others to extreme expenses to retrieve their poor, mangled corpses on a "bad day," and as long as they're not leaving behind parent-less kids, then go for it.

Besides, I'd bet the every day nerve-racking moments that most of us have from time to time are a walk in the park for them, after that. 😉
 
endervalentine said:
thanks for the link! geez, these guys are beyond badass, I mean they have to be perfect everytime, they can't have a bad day and say I'll stop now and do it again tomorrow, they have to keep going until they're done. crazy!
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Yes, they are indeed beyond badass. They're well into dumbass.
 
Mike Gayner said:
Unbelievably cool. Of course the ATOT fun police are here to bring everyone down 🙄
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Agreed. As usual, lots of tsk-tsking and thinly veiled jealousy.

Whether you'd do it or not, free soloing IS climbing in its purest form and that's why people do it. As the woman said, "it's an expression of being in control." If don't have the chops or are not willing to take the risks, then don't do it.
 
grrl said:
Agreed. As usual, lots of tsk-tsking and thinly veiled jealousy.

Whether you'd do it or not, free soloing IS climbing in its purest form and that's why people do it. As the woman said, "it's an expression of being in control." If don't have the chops or are not willing to take the risks, then don't do it.
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I prefer to think of it as having too much to risk to do that. I'd be completely cool with going through he death zone on Everest with a party, but I'd never free-climb something like that. No matter how much self control you have there's always external variables you can't control, and in the case of the OP even one of those variables in the slightest magnitude could kill you.

Assuming she doesn't give it up and does this kind of thing often, I have a strong feeling she'll die falling off the side of one of those things. I'd rather not go that way.
 
crashtestdummy said:
They have to make it to about a thousand feet before the chute will save them (if they're wearing one).

Free-soloing is just dumb. As someone who climbs, I would never in a million years climb a sheer face with no protection. I don't care how good you think you are, there's always a chance that a piece of rock will break away.
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With experience, you have a much better idea of which holds will be solid and which ones be less solid. Unless I see two bolts in a hold, I trust established outside rock more than I do in the gym.

I've "solo'ed" easy V0 30' topouts without a second thought, because I am confident in my abilities and the rock.
 
irishScott said:
I prefer to think of it as having too much to risk to do that. I'd be completely cool with going through he death zone on Everest with a party, but I'd never free-climb something like that. No matter how much self control you have there's always external variables you can't control, and in the case of the OP even one of those variables in the slightest magnitude could kill you.

Assuming she doesn't give it up and does this kind of thing often, I have a strong feeling she'll die falling off the side of one of those things. I'd rather not go that way.
Click to expand...

Yes, there is always the chance a rock will break or a hold will slip, but in the end how and what you climb is a matter of choice. That's all I'm saying.
 
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